In Accordance with Law and Honour
by Miran-chan
Summary: The failed wedding has left behind a mess, one that Nabiki hopes to be able to fix. However, her plan is so convoluted that it needs to work perfectly, or the happiness of a lot of people will be on the line. Eventual RanmaxAkane
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Note: Hello everyone! I have started on a new fanfic, about our favourite aquatransverstite in 20 parts. Sit back and enjoy the madness :)

_Discalaimer: I do not own anything from the Ranma 1/2 Universe, other than this crazy idea. That honour goes to Takahashi-san, I just felt like cleaning up the post-wedding fiasco..._

All things considered, it was ironic that after over a year and being the one who was adding fuel to the fire, Tendo Nabiki decided that enough was enough.

Since her mother's death a decade previously, Nabiki had worked hard to acquire a reputation as a hard and financially savvy woman, particularly because of Kasumi. Her older sister had taken on the burden of keeping the house at the time, but outside of buying supplies, was woefully inadequate when it came to financial matters. The middle sister had always been told that she had a head for numbers and decided that she would do what she could to help.

Years of using information to her advantage brought her to this moment, where she was sitting in her room, her family home damaged and tarnished, and worrying about the future which, thanks to her own machinations, looked to be more uncertain than ever.

Normally, Nabiki would never have done anything illegal, but the results of her recent 'sale' made her sit up and take notice.

Her questionable activities had started rather innocently several years before. Nabiki had been learning to develop pictures as part of the photography club when a class mate and another member of the club had approached her with a strange request. Seeing as most of her pictures were those of her friends, the boy had asked if she would give him one, featuring that girl that he liked.

As a joke, Nabiki had requested 500 yen, and was surprised when the boy reached for his wallet and handed over 5 shiny coins.

At first, she and her friends had laughed it off as a fluke, but somehow, the word had spread. More people, mostly boys, had started lining up, cash in hand, in order to acquire picture of their object of desire. And try as she might, the middle Tendo had found herself powerless to refuse, as for the first time in over three years there was a way that she could help supplement the family's income. As time went on, Nabiki went out of her way to acquire more and more pictures and sell them for more and more money, arguing that she only had a limited supply of paper on which to print them.

Her friends, the ones that had been supportive at the onset, had begun to feel uncomfortable and stopped associating with her.

The pain and rejection hurt, and Nabiki acquired a new source of income – information. She had learnt to take pictures covertly, bought all the supplies to do the developing in the comfort of her own home, and started selling the boys in her school the things they wanted to hear – what hobbies each girl had, how to win her over, what they loved and hated. By the end of that school year, she had established a net of information and gossip, all of which was for sale for the right price, as long as no lives were endangered.

She lost the majority of her old friends, but new ones sprung up. Over the next year, the brunette had discovered that in the strange town that was Nerima, it was possible and easy to have groupies. Students came to her to learn about how to run a business and do her bidding for her, most not even realising that with working for free, they were being exploited as much as the people they were spying on.

So it was amazing that after all the ways that she had used to exploit Akane, Ranma and the various bits of chaos that have been following since the arrival of the cursed youth, Nabiki finally decided that it was up to her to stop the nonsense and cut off her own supply of cash.

But perhaps it was not so amazing, considering that she finally had enough to go to university in Tokyo U with. The confirmation of her application had arrived that morning, as well as the confirmation that she had won a substantial scholarship for to cover a large part of her tuition and living costs. The possibility of interning as an investigative financial journalist over the summer also beckoned, meaning that for the first time ever, she had enough money set aside to support her own dreams and help her sisters survive the next few years in relative financial security.

It was now pretty certain that Kasumi would have enough to support herself, father and Akane until the youngest graduated, and Akane would probably be able to go to university if everything worked out. There was just one hitch – her plan had to work perfectly, or there would be hell to pay.

Sighing, Tendo Nabiki lifted the phone receiver to make two very important phone calls.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1**

**AN:** Hello my dears! Very sorry for this, I have been overwhelmed with work, life, and sitting in a place where I could not proof the story. But now, I should have a little more time to upload and edit this, so if we are lucky, I may get up another couple of chapters this week.

For now enjoy! The scene is being set...

**Disclaimer:** Nope, I own nothing other than a headache and an army of plush penguins.

Saotome Nodoka sat in her house at the dining table, watching her guest with hidden apprehension.

Nabiki appeared to be relaxed, but as she took a sip of tea, she eyed the Saotome clan blade and her eyebrow twitched almost imperceptivity.

They sat this way, in the absolute still and quiet, waiting for someone to finally make a move.

Just as Nodoka was about to lean forward and question her guest as to her presence there, Nabiki put her cup down and spoke. "Saotome-same, thank you for seeing me on such short notice."

"Tendo-san, of course. May I inquire as to why you are here and how much this visit will cost me?"

This time, the wince was quite visible to the untrained eye, as the middle sister clearly deflated from her normally stoic and composed cool self.

"Nothing Aunty. I think it is time we ended all of this nonsense. But I will be needing your help to pull it off."

The matriarch of her family considered the statement. On the one hand, the girl before her seemed to truly be tired of the madness and wanting to make amends. More than once in the last month she had seen Nabiki eye her sister with sadness, and as far as Ranma's mother was aware, the middle Tendo had not actually done anything to sabotage the relationship since the failed wedding. On the other, it was Tendo Nabiki, a well known manipulator, who was not about using any situation to her advantage.

"Tell me, why would you be willing to help Ranma after all the times you have exploited him?"

"Exploited him? He and that stupid pand – Saotome-san – they were living off a family that had no income, eating more than we could ever afford and allowing our hopes for the future, financial stability, independence to be destroyed! To be told that you had to marry someone on the whim of a father, someone that we had never met was low, not to mention the pressure that the fathers were exerting was illegal! And they never contributed to the household in any way! I was just protecting Kasumi!" For the first time in her memory, Nodoka could see the middle girl truly angry, practically fuming at the ears.

More worryingly, it was probably true, at least in part, if the Saotome matriarch considered the way she had seen her husband act. So instead of getting angry at the mention of her family's honour being tarnished, she nodded and asked a more pressing question.

"So, what has changed."

Nabiki had clearly been ready for a fight, not quiet acceptance, as she blinked and relaxed her shoulders. "He loves her, Aunty. I didn't believe it at first, but Jusendo proved it. Ranma killed for her, and I know that he hates killing. And before you ask about why I did what I did at the wedding, do you really think that either of them are ready for marriage now? Kasumi and I agreed it would be for the best to stop them, so the whole fiasco was not just my doing. We just didn't expect the devastation, and the other fiancés have gone too far now. I am not sorry about the wedding failing, but I am sorry for all the damage. So I need to end this. Now, before anyone gets hurt or killed."

"Very well child. I agree that your reasoning is sound. What assistance do you need from me?"

"I need you to persuade my father and Saotome-san to not pressure them into a wedding until they have both completed university or at least some sort of training that would allow them to understand how to run a dojo. It's not just about money – there are taxes, reports, advertising. They need the education or experience somewhere else if they are to succeed. I don't want them unprepared, or anyone interfering and exploiting them. I will not be letting my life be controlled by Father's need to preserve the dojo – I will thus never agree to do more than advise them when they need it."

Nodoka nodded. "I see. It is a valid argument, in our ever changing world. Do you want their word, I presume?"

"I want their world that they will leave the two alone. Ranma needs time to have a normal life."

"My son needs a normal life? Surely, his father has allowed him to experience it on their travels?"

Nabiki blanched and then turned very calm and cold. "Aunty, perhaps I need to tell you what really happened since you sent the two away. How long do we have?"

* * *

><p>It was much later in the day, when afternoon had turned to evening that Nabiki had finished telling her companion about the abuse that Ranma had suffered at the hands of his father. "I didn't think that Ranma had been serious at first, but the way the panda treats him and the fact that he was surprised to learn you were alive told me that the way his father had treated him seemed to be normal to him. And what's worse, the old man is proud of it."<p>

Nodoka had been silent for some time, her hand clutching the sword to her side. A few times, she had began sliding the weapon out of its sheath, but she always came back to her senses and slid it back in.

As Nabiki came to the end of her tale, the woman stood up gracefully and walked out of the room. Without turning, she said, "Nabiki-chan, if I may call you that. May I request that you stay for dinner, so that we may discuss the course of action that we will take?" Anticipating the girl's questions, she continued. "I believe that I can assist you in resolving the situation once and for all, and having someone in a position of authority, with connections such as mine would be useful, would it not? I suggest that we call the family lawyers first thing tomorrow morning and see how else they can help."

Nabiki stood up and murmured, "In that case, may I use your phone? Kasumi will worry, and I need to make sure that no one will look for us, until we are done."

The beautiful woman turned back to her new younger partner in possible crime with an uncharacteristic glee. "Perhaps, it is time to teach the others what law and real love can do when combined together. Are you coming, Nabiki?"

The rest would have no idea what hit them.

Even in Nerima.

AN: Hope you are liking this. Other characters will start appearing in the next few chapters :) Feel free to send me any questions that you have. Miran xx


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